Entrepreneurs Decry Insecurity Impact On Produce 

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) entrepreneurs on staple food have cried out over the continuous increase in prices of commodities in Port Harcourt and its environs.
A  survey by The Tide revealed that in Port Harcourt, the traders and residents are frustrated due to the price increase of staple food items.
A trader in Mile 3 Market, Mr Sunday Akubuike, said a bag of beans previously sold for N37,000 is now sold for N49,000.
Akubuike said a bag of Nigerian Rice previously sold for between N19,000 and N20,000 is presently sold for N29,000, while a bag of foreign Rice that was sold for N25,000 now goes for N36,000.
A bag of yellow garri that was sold for N12,000, presently goes for N29,000, while white garri that was sold for N6,000 presently sold for N22,000.
Akubuike said a bag of corn previously sold for N10,000 now goes for N25,000.
He attributed the increase in food prices by business men and women to cost of transportation, which he said had affected his purchasing power.
Another entrepreneur,  Mrs Emen Okon, at Iwofe Market, said a 25 litres of palm oil that was sold for N7,000 was presently sold for N30,000 while 25 litres of groundnut oil that was sold for N12,000 is now N43,000.
She continued that four litres of palm oil goes for N4,500 as against the previous price of N2,200, while four litres of groundnut oil now sell for between N5,500 to N10,000, depending on the product.
Another trader, Miss Sorochi Michael in Rumumasi Market, said palm oil that was sold for N10,000 now goes for N25,000 while groundnut oil that was sold for N15,500 now goes for N39,000, depending on the products.
She said each time she goes to market to stock her shop, she usually gets frustrated because of the rate at which price of food items are increasing.
She attributed the increase to the high level of insecurity facing producers of agricultural products.
“Widespread insecurity in Northern and Eastern Nigeria has compelled major suppliers of food items to the Southern part of the country, particularly the South-Western axis, to suspend supplies,” she said.

By: Lilian Peters